


spending time with you

by strawberrylipstick



Series: boyfriend escapades [3]
Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Communication, First Date, Humor, Light-Hearted, M/M, Slight Internalized Homophobia, just for the laughs, slight cardi b slander
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-27 21:27:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20052796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrylipstick/pseuds/strawberrylipstick
Summary: Cyrus and T.J.’s first date doesn't go exactly as planned.





	spending time with you

By the end of the week, T.J. was, in a very literal sense, a nervous wreck. Friday was both a glittering promise and an opportunity to screw everything up. He was determined to make it an unforgettable evening for both him and Cyrus, who happened to be his boyfriend. Which meant that the coming night was a date. No pressure.

“We could plan it together,” Cyrus had suggested. At the time, T.J. had found it rather chivalrous that he offered to plan it all by himself.

“Just you see. It’ll be perfect,” he’d promised, and Cyrus’ smile in response was great motivation. However, three days later, it was all falling to pieces. Or it seemed that way, at least. For one, numbers wouldn’t leave him alone.

“Mr. Kippen,” his teacher escorted him out of the classroom with a grim expression, but T.J. remained nonplussed. He hadn’t manipulated anyone to do his homework, for one. Nor was he failing the class. A part of him wondered if he was moving up a class. Maybe in an alternate universe. But then again, he never expected to be dating Cyrus Goodman either, so perhaps miracles do occur.

“You’re missing a very important assignment,” Mr. Coleman continued. “It was supposed to be turned in last Saturday by midnight. Sound familiar?”

Not really. Last Saturday had been Andi’s party, and the thought of an assignment never could crossed his mind once, considering he was...occupied. Then it hit him: there was something he had to do from a math website assigned back in October. 

Oh.

“Right. Sorry, but I don’t have WiFi,” T.J. invented wildly, his face heating up. He felt guilty for lying, but what if was true? Amish people wouldn’t have been to do the digital equations.

His teacher wasn’t buying it though. “Okay. I gave you a whole week to tell me about your internet issues, but I didn’t hear anything. So you have two options, T.J. Either you turn in the assignment by six o’clock today with the WiFi I know you have, or you get a zero.”

“Today?” he responded, sudden panic filling him up. Right after school was phase one of Cyrus and T.J.’s very first date: a movie. Of Cyrus’ extreme liking. A documentary about the Fiji crested Iguana, part of the 196 critically endangered reptilian species—Anyway. There was no way he could do the assignment. “Mr. Coleman, I’m busy today. Please, can you just give me until tomorrow?”

“Shooting hoops can wait, Mr. Kippen.”

“No, it’s not that—” 

“That’s my final word.”

And of course, he spent the rest of the period considering getting a zero. He’d much rather spend hours with Cyrus, admittedly watching his boyfriend more than the movie. His beautiful brown eyes lit up at cold-blooded scaly creatures finding food in Southern Pacific jungles. A glorious sight to behold. 

But then, with a sinking feeling, he wondered if Cyrus would find out about his sudden drop in math. Again. He was so near a B, too. Canceling the date wasn’t an option, though. It just couldn’t be. Seeing Cyrus’ face scrunch up in disappointment was a traumatic experience he felt no desire of reliving. 

So with determined nonchalance, T.J. made his way to Cyrus’ lunch table at lunch. They’d been sitting across from each other for the past week under the expectant gaze of his friends, but no such PDA occurred. In fact, they hadn’t kissed since the party, which was totally okay, he figured. And there were no discussions about how exactly they were to come out as a couple to the rest of the school. Which was totally okay, too. 

But T.J. hoped that their first date would speed things up a bit, but only if Cyrus wanted it, of course. There was strong apprehension mingled with excitement. He wanted nothing more but to hug Cyrus at any given moment, to feel their hands intertwined in the hallways like every other couple at Jefferson. But Shadyside was a small town, and who knew how people would react when word would surely get out?

“You okay?” Cyrus asked with a frown, for T.J.’s happy facial expression vanished for a moment. He took his seat and adjusted his smile.

“Of course!” T.J. said, way too cheerily. Cyrus’ frown deepened. God, he really did know how to read people. “Anyway, how was your Spanish quiz?”

Cyrus’ doubts quickly evaporated as he went on a whole tangent about direct object pronouns. T.J. watched him fondly, and he was so engrossed in Cyrus’ words and Cyrus himself that he didn’t realize the rest of the group wasn’t there until moments later.

“Where is everyone?” T.J. asked.

To his surprise, Cyrus blushed. “Well, they insisted on giving us...space. Like, just the two of us, sitting here. If you want, I can tell them to come back—”

“No, it’s totally fine.” They grinned at each other. “I like it better, actually. Don’t tell Buffy, though, she’ll probably kick me out of the table altogether.”

Cyrus laughed, and suddenly T.J. was hyper-aware about the accessibility of his hands, right there on the green table.  _ Just grab it,  _ he urged himself,  _ who cares about what everyone else thinks _

“I’m really excited about this afternoon!” Cyrus exclaimed. “I wonder what you have planned.”

Throat suddenly dry, T.J. chuckled nervously. “About that. Is it okay if I pick you up from your house at five? Well, obviously not with a car, since I don’t own one. I’m fourteen. But I can walk there and then we can walk together, the movie theater isn’t too far from your place. We can catch a late show. Gotta watch those iguanas.” Crap, crap, crap. He just spoiled the surprise. “It’s all up to you, though.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Cyrus’ brow furrowed. “Can I ask you why, or—”

The bell rang. T.J. got up, stumbling slightly before straightening himself out and turning his back. He couldn’t handle facing Cyrus. “See you at five?”

“Yeah. See you.”

____________________

By three-thirty PM, T.J. was quite sure his life was utterly over. He had forty-eight questions to finish, and his brain wasn’t functioning enough, so he only knew how to do forty-seven of them. 

He glanced at the clock, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. At his rate, he wouldn’t be able to do two of the questions, let alone all of them—

Whatever. T.J. promptly decided that he would BS his way through the problems, because (much) better things were waiting for him. No one was expecting him to be a mathematician after all. 

But since he was a teenager—a lovesick one—his brain decided to relive a certain memory. Yet people still act like procrastination is a choice. 

_ It was very late at night, almost dawn, yet T.J.’s mind still whirred. Mere hours ago, he’d held hands with Cyrus Goodman. Kissed Cyrus Goodman. Became boyfriends with Cyrus Goodman. All underneath the red light of Andi’s lantern, on top of the dewy grass. How was he so lucky? Maybe this was a dream, after all. _

_ But a text interrupted his musings.  _

** _Underdog<3: good morning! sorry, i know it’s early. _ **

_ It was five-forty five. T.J. wondered if he should wait a little bit, then reply, so he doesn’t seem like some insomniac, desperate freak. He then decided to screw it. _

** _it’s no problem. i’m up too!_ **

** _ok! want to meet up at the spoon later? andi and buffy will be there for sure_ **

** _maybe. i’ll have to ask though_ **

** _ cool!!!!_ **

_ T.J. didn’t exactly know how to respond, but humor was never a terrible option. Right? So he typed, rather regretfully: _

** _so, have we decided what type of couple we’re gonna be?_ **

** _ type of couple? _ **

** _you know, we can be the ones who finish each other’s sentences or play basketball together_ **

** _bold of you to assume i can even pick up a ball_ **

** _LOL_ **

** _i googled it. we can be the couple that has great fashion sense. thelonious, you will have to up your game_ **

** _ first of all, my fashion sense is great. second, if i hear (or see) that name one more time, i will quite literally vomit_ **

** _fine fine fine. i really love the name though_ **

_ And I love you, T.J. was tempted to type out, but no. Freaking out your recently acquired boyfriend, who just so happens to be the best person in your life, is never a good idea. _

** _if i do come to the spoon, you’ll see me in the best outfit of all time_ **

** _bring it on kippen!!_ **

_ He glanced at the open closet, where a certain purple hoodie presented itself brilliantly. Oh, he would so bring it. _

Back in the present, T.J. looked at the problems over and over, hoping for some reprieve. To his very big shock, it did come in the form of the one and only Cyrus Goodman, who rang the doorbell for twenty-two seconds straight before T.J. opened it. 

“Cyrus, I was going to pick you up, not the opposite!” T.J. said playfully. “Is your memory compromised?”

“No.” He wasn’t smiling. “I need to talk to you.”

“Oh. Okay.”  _ Shit. Chill, Kippen, maybe it’s just about the iguana documentary.  _

“Are you busy?”  _ Okay. He’s going to break up with you. This has to be some kind of record. It’s been six days. SIX DAYS. _

“Uh, no. Come on in.” 

Cyrus followed him. They sat on the white couch and T.J. stared at him expectantly. He took a deep breath and began, “T.J., I get if you don’t want to go on an official ‘date’ yet.”

“Wha—”

“I’m really sorry if you feel like I’ve been pressuring you to do things you don’t want to do.”

“Cyrus—”

“I just thought,” and Cyrus said this so softly, so sadly, that T.J. wanted to jump off a cliff, “we were ready. I hate myself for misinterpreting it.”

“Cyrus, I didn’t cancel the date.” He scooted closer to him. “I wanted to move it. You didn’t misinterpret anything.”

“But you’re keeping something from me, Teej! I just know you are, I can tell, and you do realize the number one thing that causes most relationships to fail is miscommunication, right? Not to mention, middle school relationships are messier than the rest.” 

T.J. nodded, sighing. “Okay. You’re right. I’m sorry. You’re not pressuring me to do anything I don’t want to do, I swear. I...I just have this huge math assignment to do. I didn’t turn it in last week and haven’t been working on it because I’ve been busy with stuff and you know what stuff and I know I’m stupid but I swear I’m good at history and shit just not math.” He exhaled sharply. “Sorry. I hate having dyscalculia.”

Cyrus’ smile, incredibly, seemed relieved. “T.J., you should’ve told me at lunch. Here I was thinking you’re secretly in love with Kira but don’t know how to tell me.”

He couldn’t repress a snort. “I’d rather do math.”

Cyrus laughed but added, “Seriously, though. We need to be a hundred percent honest with each other. And you’re not stupid, Teej. The opposite, frankly. A procrastinator, though. What time is this assignment due?”

“Six. Honestly, don’t fret it. I’ll be done by five, when our date officially starts.”

He rose up from the couch, shaking his head. “Oh, no, T.J. The date has officially started already.” A moment for added dramatic effect, and then: “It’s a study date! We’re going to finish every single question.”

____________________

“You’re not even studying,” T.J. reasoned. “It’s just you helping me with all this useless stuff. What a terrible date.” 

Cyrus shook his head. “Stop it. It’s perfect. There’s even music to set the mood.”

The music happened to be Cardi B.

“Why is she still playing? My ears are bleeding.”

“You know the deal. We’re not turning it off until we’re done.” He shook his brown hair out of his eyes, and all of a sudden T.J.’s attention was warped on the little things again, like the curve of Cyrus’ smaller hands and his slightly curled eyelashes. God, he was so gay. He noticed pretty girls, but boys were beautiful, or at least Cyrus was. And that was enough. 

His musings were once again interrupted by Cyrus. “T.J., I will call you by your full name. T.J. THELO—”

“Okay! Sorry. I was just daydreaming.” He sighed. “What was the question again?”

“If Ariba went shopping and bought steak for 0.5 pounds for $1.63, what would be the cost for one pound of—”

“Goddamn. Ariba should just be a vegan. Cows produce methane, you know that?”

Cyrus blinked. “T.J.”

“Oh, come on, Cyrus. It’s five-fifteen. We’ve done a ton of questions. Can we go now? I have a surprise I want to show you.”

“I know about the iguana documentary.” 

“Shit. Right. But I want to spend time with you.”

“T.J. We are spending time. Right here, right now. And I feel bad if we don’t complete these, okay? We’re boyfriends, right? We help each other out.” He added hastily, “Plus I owe you one. Last Sunday you wore my Bash Mitzvah sweatshirt to The Spoon.”

T.J. rolled his eyes, fondness sweeping through him, a familiar habit around Cyrus. “Well, I did tell you we were going to be the couple with the best fashion taste. Nothing is more supreme than that hoodie.” A hesitant pause, and then a hasty confession. “We don’t seem like a couple at all.”

This time, Cyrus partially shut the laptop, focusing on T.J. with bemused eyes. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s my fault. I feel like I should initiate more. I want to hold your hand in public, Cyrus, like when we were on that bench. It’s okay when we’re with our friends, but…” He buried his face in his hands. “I don’t know. I’m still kind of scared. But I don’t want to be.” T.J. looked up. “Is that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay. Like I said earlier, we need to communicate more. I didn’t want to say anything about coming out or hold hands because I don’t want to pressure you. I’m fine to take it at any pace. That doesn’t mean we’re not a couple.”

T.J. thought of his mother at work, totally oblivious of her son’s sexuality, soon to be faced with the confession. His breath hitched and he swallowed. “We have time, right?” 

“All the time in the world.” They smiled at each other until Cyrus checked his watch. “But not much time to finish these questions. Come on. We can do this.” 

T.J. let out a very audible groan.

“Only fifteen questions left, Teej. What can I do to motivate you?”

There was something oddly mischevious in Cyrus’ question. Suddenly it was that evening again and their lips were perfectly intertwined. T.J. swallowed, wondering how he could muster up that courage once more. He stared at the ceiling, then admitted, “Kiss me every time I get a question right?”

The air changed, suddenly electric, but Cyrus kept it playful anyway. “Not every time. Only after you finish every single question.”

“Okay, okay. One more condition, though. I’m changing the music.”

So they listened to the sweet melodic tunes of T.J.’s favorite band as he begrudgingly accepted Ariba and her environmentally hazardous diet. Then it was five minutes until six and Cyrus had helped him finish every single question. After happily cheering about their accomplishment, they faced each other.

Cyrus nodded, and instead of their impulsive first kiss, a longer one took place, more of a promise than an echo. Their second kiss. How romantic, how perfect.

They clung to each other, Cyrus’ head on T.J.’s shoulder. This was great, too, except the nagging guilt wouldn’t leave.

“I’m sorry for ruining the first phase of our very first date,” T.J. whispered.

“Oh, don’t. I love spending time with you. I’m starting to think it’s my favorite thing to do, even when you’re complaining about common core.”

He laughed. “Well, I’m glad. Because brace yourself for another three hours with me. It’s time to finally catch that lizard documentary.”

“It’s about  _ iguanas. _ ”

And then they walked out of his house together, interlocked fingers even when they strolled on the sidewalk. It was okay. All the time in the world, and it started today.

**Author's Note:**

> i just wanted to write something fluffy
> 
> leave a comment on what you think!


End file.
